05 Feb Call Scripts
Post 2 in the Take Action Series
Do Something
Hello again everyone,
Well it is another day in paradise and even here I get up each day wondering what the current administration has done… While the scenery helps - the anxiety is still there.
Each day I recommit myself to going on-record about some part of the madness. I continue to try to find ways to make any kind of difference in our current situation. While I was not in NC to participate in the 50501 protest there I will be walking to the HI state capitol to do my part there.
We all have to find ways to keep our sanity and for me that includes doing something. Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you for anything and everything you are doing to voice your concern about the current political maelstrom.
I published a primmer on contacting your Senators and Representative yesterday. Today’s scripts for each of my calls are below. Of course if you choose to call you should voice your concerns and tailor to the behavior of your legislators.
Call to Senator Tillis’ office
Hello, My name is Ken Gahagan and my address is <redacted>.
As a former Vice-President for Research and Development at SAS I understand the importance of data to inform decisions in all areas of business and government. It is important to ensure that we have a sufficient amount of relevant data to inform decisions.
I am calling today for three reasons:
I urge Senator Tillis to author or support a bill that requires that all datasets removed by the current administration to be restored and be made available for public access once more - regardless of the content and including data such as non-binary gender and / or sexuality. The public paid for this data and the public has a right to access the data and to make their own informed decisions as to whether the variables that the current administration find distasteful are relevant to their work or not. The government should not be in our bedrooms and the government should not decide prima facie on our behalf what data is or is not valuable — especially after public funds have been spent to collect it.
While this issue is currently in the courts - and hopefully it will be resolved there - I think it is important for ALL senators - regardless of party - to stand up for the rule of law. What is going on with the January 6th participation questionnaires within the FBI is appalling and the senator should speak out against it.
Regardless of whether one believes President Trump was responsible for the events of Jan 6 we all saw what happened that day. The behavior of the crowd was against the law and FBI agents should not lose their job nor be subjected to this witch hunt simply because the rule of law is repugnant to the current president of the United States.
If someone is not performing in their job then appropriate action should be taken but whether or not one worked on a January 6th case should not be used as a stand-alone qualification for continued employment. It is the data - in this case, the facts alone - that should determine which cases are pursued. These agents were doing their job and should not be punished for doing so.I want to express my disapproval of Senator Tillis’ support for Kash Patel’s nomination for Director of FBI:
Not only do I not consider Mr. Patel to be qualified for the job I found his answers during the hearing to be completely evasive continually stating “I don’t have that in front of me” rather than actually answering questions.
I also find Senator Tillis’ K$h Bingo stunt to be sophomoric. Mr. Tillis is better than this and regardless of his positions Mr. Tillis should conduct himself in a manner that represents the State of North Carolina honorably and this was not his finest moment. While partisan antics are completely appropriate for campaign season Mr. Tillis represents all of North Carolina when he is doing his “day job.” I would remind the Senator that 50.86% of voters in the previous election voted for President Trump. This means that a very large portion of NC does not align with Mr. Trump’s campaign rhetoric- much less the actual actions he has taken since becoming president.
Thank you very much for your time. I appreciate what you are doing.
Call to Senator Budd’s office
Hello, My name is Ken Gahagan and my address is <redacted>.
As a former Vice-President for Research and Development at SAS I understand the importance of data to inform decisions in all areas of business and government. It is important to ensure that we have a sufficient amount of relevant data to inform those decisions.
I am calling today for four reasons:
I want to thank Senator Budd for his post-Helene support of Western North Carolina
I urge Senator Budd to author or support a bill that requires that all datasets removed by the current administration to be restored and be made available for public access once more - regardless of the content including data such as non-binary gender and / or sexuality. The public paid for this data and the public has a right to access the data and to make their own informed decisions as to whether the variables that the current administration find distasteful are relevant to their work or not. The government should not be in our bedrooms and the government should not decide prima facie on our behalf what data is or is not valuable — especially after public funds have been spent to collect it.
While this issue is currently in the courts and hopefully it will be resolved there I think it is important for ALL senators - regardless of party - to stand up for the rule of law. What is going on with the January 6th participation questionnaires within the FBI is appalling and the senator should speak out against it.
Regardless of whether one believes President Trump was responsible for the events of Jan 6 we all saw what happened that day. The behavior of the crowd was against the law and FBI agents should not lose their job nor be subjected to this witch hunt simply because the rule of law is repugnant to the current president of the United States.
If someone is not performing in their job then appropriate action should be taken but whether or not one worked on a January 6th case should not be used as a stand-alone qualification for continued employment. It is the data - and in this case, the facts alone that should determine which cases are pursued. These agents were doing their job and should not be punished for doing so.I want to urge the senator to vote against Kash Patel’s nomination for Director of FBI:
Not only do I not consider Mr. Patel to be qualified for the job I found his answers during the hearing to be completely evasive continually stating “I don’t have that in front of me” rather than actually answering the question.
Thank you very much for your time. I appreciate what you and the senator are doing..
Call to Representative Foushee’s Office
Hello, My name is Ken Gahagan and my address is <redacted>.
As a former Vice-President for Research and Development at SAS I understand the importance of data to inform decisions in all areas of business and government. It is important to ensure that we have a sufficient amount of relevant data to inform those decisions.
I am calling today for three reasons:
Thank you for speaking out against Elon Musk’s take over of vital Federal government systems. What DOGE is doing is completely inappropriate and while I am not a lawyer it seems completely illegal to me.
I urge Representative Foushee to author or support a bill that requires that all datasets removed by the current administration to be restored and be made available for public access once more - regardless of the content including data such as non-binary gender and / or sexuality. The public paid for this data and the public has a right to access the data and to make their own informed decisions as to whether the variables that the current administration find distasteful are relevant to their work or not. The government should not be in our bedrooms and the government should not decide prima facie on our behalf what data is or is not valuable — especially after public funds have been spent to collect it.
While this issue is currently in the courts and hopefully it will be resolved there I think it is important for ALL legislators - regardless of party - to stand up for the rule of law. What is going on with the January 6th participation questionnaires within the FBI is appalling and the senator should speak out against it.
Regardless of whether one believes President Trump was responsible for the events of Jan 6 we all saw what happened that day. The behavior of the crowd was against the law and FBI agents should not lose their job nor be subjected to this witch hunt simply because the rule of law is repugnant to the current president of the United States.
If someone is not performing in their job then appropriate action should be taken but whether or not one worked on a January 6th case should not be used as a stand-alone qualification for continued employment. It is the data - and in this case, the facts alone that should determine which cases are pursued. These agents were doing their job and should not be punished for doing so.
Thank you very much for your time. I appreciate what you do.
Your Turn
Living in a democracy is a 365 day a year responsibility. When things are going well we get to simply enjoy the benefits but when things go off the rails “we the people” are the final check on government running amuck. The Executive branch of the federal government is out of control at the moment and the House and Senate seem to be happy to let things burn rather than take responsibility for enacting changes through the proper process. Our senators and representatives will not have the courage to stand up for what is right if we do not stand up for what is right.
The folks working in our legislators offices are very polite. They will record your concerns and convey them “up the chain” within the office. There is nothing to fear with respect to making a call and making your voice heard. Even if delivering a message that you reasonably expect does not align with what the person hopes to hear - be polite. They listen to a lot of calls each day and what they do is not easy work. Always thank them for what they do and for their time.
Whatever you choose to do - thank you for being an active participant and speaking out for democracy.